Suchergebnisse

DESPITE SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC growth, South Asia remains notorious for its alarmingly high rates of undernutrition. This "Asian enigma" has long puzzled both researchers and policymakers. However, Nepal's recent experience presents yet another enigma: a rapid reduction in maternal and child undernutrition during a period of civil war and prolonged political and economic instability. From 1996 to 2011, the prevalence of stunting among children under two years of age fell from 48 to 27 percent, and the prevalence of maternal underweight decreased from 28 to 20 percent. ; PR ; IFPRI1; Transform Nutrition; compact2025; Stories of Change in Nutrition ; DGO; PHND; A4NH ; CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

Changes in the immediate, underlying and basic determinants of nutritional status at the community-and household-level are a logical and empirical prerequisite to reducing high levels of undernutrition in high burden countries. This paper considers these factors directly from the perspective of community members and frontline workers interviewed in six countries in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In each country, in-depth interviews were conducted with mothers, other community members and health workers to understand changes in health and nutrition practices, nutrition-specific interventions, underlying drivers and nutrition-sensitive interventions, and life conditions. Overall, the need for basic improvements in livelihood opportunities and infrastructure are solidly underscored. Nutrition-specific and -sensitive changes represented in most cases by deliberate government or NGO supported community interventions are rolling out at a mixed and uneven pace, but are having some significant impacts where solidly implemented. The synthesis presented here provides an invaluable source of information for understanding how community-level change occurred against a wider backdrop of national level progress.

IFPRI3; ISI; CRP4; POSHAN; Stories of Change in Nutrition ; PHND; A4NH; SAO ; PR ; CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)